‘I decided I was done': Canada pizzeria boycotts US ingredients in tariff dispute

The Guardian

28-02-2025

Tucked away in a former garage space in Toronto's west end, Gram's Pizza, is usually packed with diners hankering for anything from a classic pepperoni to vodka and hot hawaiian.
Lately, however, owner and chef Graham Palmateer has made some changes to how he makes his pizzas.
After Donald Trump threatened to slap a 25% tariff on Canadian goods – and even to annex the whole country – Palmateer decided to banish US ingredients from his restaurant.
'I just decided I was done with the US. I wanted to move away from American companies,' he said. 'Canadians know Americans pretty well, and we don't always agree with the choices that they make. A lot of us are disappointed, to put it mildly.'
Making the switch has not been the easiest task: the two countries' economies have been tightly bound through a longstanding free trade agreement since the late 1980s.
But years of cross-border trade and investment has blurred the lines on country of origin: in the car manufacturing industry, for example, a vehicle passes the border an average of seven times during the manufacturing process.
Those attempting to impose a full boycott of consumer goods have been caught off-guard at grocery stores where 'Made In Canada' products might contain some US ingredients.
And while Canada's political leaders have at times appeared to be flailing in their response to Trump's threat, ordinary Canadians have decided to get their retaliation in early, and boycott American goods.
A poll this month by the Angus Reid Institute published found that since Trump revived his threat of tariffs, four in five Canadians have been buying more Canadian products.
Some grocery stores have even labeled which items are made by Canadian producers. Bar Sazerac in Hamilton, about an hour west of Toronto, is no longer using American alcohol in its menu.
Palmateer said his transition to Canadian ingredients had some bumps initially. He had trouble sourcing Canadian diet soda, while some items, like mushrooms, are more expensive to source locally. Instead of Californian tomatoes, he opted for canned ones from Italy.
But he has since gotten into the swing of things. He uses a Quebec-based company to source pepperoni, the flour he uses is made with Ontario grain and cheese is easy to source from Canadian suppliers.
The cost of operating has increased slightly, 'but by and large, I haven't had to change pricing', he said.
Kenneth Wong, an associate professor at the business school at Queen's University in Ontario, said he had been surprised by an apparently organic response among Canadian consumers: on a visit to his local grocery store, homegrown apples were sold out, while next to them, a bin of US apples appeared to be untouched.
'Canadians are bearing down in ways I never thought they would,' he said.
After appearing to relent on the tariff threat, Trump on Thursday repeated his intention to apply the levy on imports from Canada on Mexico from March 4th.
The continuing uncertainty has prompted Canadian provinces to lift some internal trade barriers – a move which Wong said could somewhat reduce Canada's strong reliance on the US.
'And once that fully happens, tastes will change and habits will form. I'm not saying you can't win back your consumer if you're a US firm, but I am saying it's going to be a lot more expensive to do so,' he said.
Palmateer said his customer base seemed to be happy with his choice to shun American products. 'It's pretty much been positive. 'Good for you' kind of comments,' he said.
One customer was upset they could no longer drink a Sprite with their Pizza. But Palmateer has since found Canadian soda brands like Sap Sucker which he hopes will fit the bill. Either way, he says he will not go back to using US ingredients.
'This boycott … is my way of voting with my dollar,' he says. 'If it encourages someone else to also do the same thing and divest, that's a good step.'